by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking is part of that endeavor. You may be surprised that some normally high-priced schools offer very generous financial aid packages to those who qualify.
In This Year's Value Report:
After analyzing 55 schools in Minnesota, we came up with our list of those that offered the best value programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking is to look at the school's average net price - the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
We go into more detail on these factors on our best value ranking methodology page.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named Hennepin Technical College the best value (with aid) school in Minnesota. Located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, the school is a small public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Hennepin Technical College is ranked #5 for quality in the state of Minnesota. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $11,194.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Cloud Technical and Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. St Cloud Technical and Community College is a small public school situated in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
St Cloud Technical and Community College has the honor of being ranked #32 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $8,404 a year.
Learn More About Value at St Cloud Technical and Community College
The quality degree programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities has the honor of being ranked #1 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $17,468 a year.
Learn More About Value at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
The quality degree programs at Dakota County Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota. Located in Rosemount, Minnesota, the school is a small public institution.
Not only is Dakota County Technical College a great value, but it is also ranked #15 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $11,472.
Out of the 55 schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, Century College landed the #5 spot on the list. Century College is located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
Century College has the honor of being ranked #25 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $10,901.
Normandale Community College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #6. This medium-sized public school is located in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Not only is Normandale Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #22 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $12,354.
With a ranking of #7, University of Minnesota - Crookston did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. Located in Crookston, Minnesota, the school is a small public institution.
University of Minnesota - Crookston has the honor of being ranked #26 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,925 a year.
Minnesota State Community and Technical College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Fergus Falls, Minnesota is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Minnesota State Community and Technical College is ranked #41 for quality in the state of Minnesota. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $10,119.
Read full value report on Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Inver Hills Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Inver Hills Community College is a small public school located in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Inver Hills Community College is ranked #43 for quality in the state of Minnesota. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $10,184 a year.
Ridgewater College landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Willmar, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Ridgewater College a great value, but it is also ranked #38 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $11,014.
Anoka Technical College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #11. Anoka, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Anoka Technical College is ranked #33 for quality in the state of Minnesota. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $12,407.
With a ranking of #12, North Hennepin Community College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. North Hennepin Community College is a public institution located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Not only is North Hennepin Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #39 in Minnesota for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,368 a year.
With a ranking of #13, Capella University did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a private for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Capella University is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Minnesota. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $17,840 a year.
Saint Cloud State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #14. This fairly large public school is located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
Saint Cloud State University has the honor of being ranked #27 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $13,615 a year.
Saint Paul College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
Not only is Saint Paul College a great value, but it is also ranked #35 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $12,391.
With a ranking of #16, Anoka-Ramsey Community College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus is located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Anoka-Ramsey Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #49 in Minnesota for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $10,929 a year.
University of Minnesota - Morris ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. This small public school is located in Morris, Minnesota.
Not only is University of Minnesota - Morris a great value, but it is also ranked #44 in Minnesota for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $11,652 a year.
Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Mankato, Minnesota.
Not only is Minnesota State University - Mankato a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $15,832.
Read full value report on Minnesota State University - Mankato
With a ranking of #19, South Central College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. Located in North Mankato, Minnesota, the school is a small public institution.
South Central College has the honor of being ranked #50 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $10,025.
Minneapolis Community and Technical College landed the #20 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Not only is Minneapolis Community and Technical College a great value, but it is also ranked #42 in Minnesota for overall quality. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $12,314.
Read full value report on Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Central Lakes College - Brainerd came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Brainerd, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Central Lakes College - Brainerd is ranked #45 for quality in the state of Minnesota. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $12,279.
Alexandria Technical & Community College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #22. Alexandria, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Alexandria Technical & Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #36 in Minnesota for overall quality. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $13,189 a year.
With a ranking of #23, University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. UMN Duluth is located in Duluth, Minnesota and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
University of Minnesota - Duluth has the honor of being ranked #10 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $16,960 a year.
Rochester Community and Technical College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota list. Rochester Community and Technical College is a small public school located in Rochester, Minnesota.
Rochester Community and Technical College has the honor of being ranked #37 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. For those students who receive financial aid, the yearly average net price of the school is around $13,522.
Read full value report on Rochester Community and Technical College
Walden University landed the #25 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Minnesota ranking. Walden University is a private for-profit institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Walden University has the honor of being ranked #8 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average net price of the school for those who receive financial aid is about $18,772 a year.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.